Penthesilea's Wish [Vol.1]

Chapter Ten

The fog returned to the foothills looming over of San Francisco Bay and the headlands north of it. It was late afternoon and Daniela had once again arrived at the only place on the planet that seemed to let her breathe free. There was a damp, freshness to the air that infused the aromas of the forest and seed-cluttered brush. Baylor was exhaling loudly and groaned as if to ask what she intended to do next. Daniela saw at a distance the familiar downed tree which, during their last visit, completely defeated her will. She capriciously positioned her horse in its direction and began the steady approach again, this time without delay.

Baylor was alert. He remembered the obstacle. But Daniela was resolved to clear it at a run. The horse began his protest again, as before with the shifting of his gate. But this time she was resolute in her grip on his reigns and insisted with the rapid jabs from her heels into his flanks. The animal and rider were now one, relying on their instincts to not hesitate after a certain distance to the barrier.

"Steady Baylor . . . over it, boy . . ." Daniela's whisper was reassuring, controlled. Her knees were tightening into the horse's sides, signaling her commitment to ride out the leap without being dislodged at the inevitable hard landing. Baylor grunted again but did not reduce his speed. Instead, he increased it. He began to even-out his cadence as they approach the fallen tree. His movements were now smoothly executed in a calculated preparation for the moment he would project all his strength into his hind legs and explode into a leap.

Daniela was conscious of the sound of Baylor's hooves. They communicated a strong and committed effort to attempt the jump. Nearing the last five meters, she bit her bottom lip and gripped the reigns with tightened fists, moist from the tension. There was no thought of failure now. No weakness of spirit in either her or her horse as they prepared to leave the earth. Baylor was poised to meet the challenge and took one last breath. Three meters from the massive tree, at full speed, he planted his rear feet. His musculature exploded in concert, recoiling like a nine-hundred pound spring, taking him and Daniela upward and forward in space and time.

There was an artful moment as they reach the apogee of ascent. Daniela could not remember feeling the ground so distantly below her in any jump back at the club. Over the tree and its wicked branches, looking like some mythological beast on its side, horse and rider sailed in what seemed like a frozen, aesthetic moment. There were no heartbeats, no breathing, and no thoughts as they passed through the air covering three to four meters of distance. When the magic of the floating terminated into a solid and jarring contact with the ground, Baylor sprinted on to carry their inertia forward and let the weight and speed dissipate slowly, fully clear of the hurdle.

"Yessssssss!" Daniela screamed into the meadow. A series of soft echoes answered back and a frightened bevy of quail fluttered out into the blue-gray light of dusk. "Yeah, Baylor! Yesssss, oh yes, boy!"

She was now breathing hard. Her hands were trembling and practically numb from the rush of adrenalin. Baylor was breathing quickly as well, and he slowed his movement to a stop. He threw his head up and pointed his ears back behind at the barrier in an instinctive final reaction of 'fight or flight.' Daniela wiped her mouth from what she felt was saliva on her chin. She saw the crimson color on her fingers and realized it was blood where she had bitten her lip so intensely. As she wiped the small red smear off her hand onto the leg of her riding pants, she inadvertently saw the stain as some trophy to herself-a small, but symbolic mark of her own power and achievement. It was born or simply was regained that afternoon in solitude and out of a belief in herself. She slapped Baylor in quick little pats on the side of his neck in appreciation and praise.

After a brief moment of repose where she visualized the jump as if watching it from afar, Daniela pressed her heels into Baylor's flanks once more. She guided him along the trail in somewhat of a victory walk before driving him back at a full gallop through the long, darkening countryside to the stables. She felt very inspired and in control while returning, carrying something wild and new inside her as she put her companion in for the night.